Billy Horschel took on a gator at the Cognizant Classic (Image: @PaulHodowanic)
star Billy Horschel came face-to-face with an alligator during Thursday’s action at the Cognizant Classic.
Horschel entered the event while stuck in a rut of poor form, having failed to make the cut in each of his previous two tournaments.
But the American had more than just his game to contend with during a first-round outing at the PGA National Members Club in Florida.
Horschel’s opening round was disrupted when an alligator crept onto the course, bringing a halt to proceedings.
As a Florida native, the sight of a gator unsurprisingly didn’t send shivers down the spine of Horschel.
Instead, Horschel fronted up to the beast and was able to get it to retreat back to its swamp.
As captured by mobile phone footage, the golf ace pointed his club towards the reptile, which quickly turned on its heels and hopped straight back into the water from where it came.
For Horschel, he’s got gator blood himself, having come through the prestigious University of Florida, whose intercollegiate athletic teams are known as the ‘Florida Gators’.
Takes a Gator to tame a gator here at PGA National
— Paul Hodowanic (@PaulHodowanic)
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Speaking after the crazy encounter, Horschel said: “Yeah, I’m not afraid of gators.
“Listen, as I tell most people, I said, they’re more afraid of you. The majority of the time they’re only going to come after you during mating season where they’re a little aggressive and then if you’re around their nest when they’ve got some eggs.
“The majority of the time, they’re fine. I grew up with my dad grabbing their tail when they’re on the side of the bank and shooing them back in the water. I never touched a tail with my hand but I’ve done it with a club. Not that big of a deal.”
He continued: “The cop who was working with us walked over there and tried to shoo [the gator], but he didn’t have anything to touch him and he was trying to get as close as he could.
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“It was either someone was going to have to go up to No. 8 and grab a rake or I was 30 yards away, 25 yards away, and I just grabbed a club and went over there and pushed him away.
“Listen, he was going nowhere good. So I just went over there, helped the cop. As [Cameron Young] said before I went over there, he goes, what was he going to do, try and use a taser on him? But I think he would have had to get a little close on that one to try and make it effective.”
The 38-year-old made his PGA Tour debut in 2013 and achieved his best finish at a major championship last year, when he finished second in The Open at Royal Troon Golf Club.
Horschel will resume on Friday five under par after a solid opening round at the Cognizant Classic.